Travel to Chiang Mai

This was our travel day from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. 

We took a taxi from the hotel to the DMK (Don Muang Airport). The total cost was 400 baht with an optional 50 baht tip.  

After assistance at the self check-in kiosk we checked our bags, waited in the lounge and boarded our flight on AirAsia. If you check your luggage, take a photo of it in case it doesn't arrive with you and you have to describe it. 

After arriving at the Chiang Mai airport, we got a taxi near the luggage carousel (160 baht: $4.57) to take us to our accommodations.

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We booked a 24 day stay in Pansook the Urban Condo, on the site Agoda.com. Selecting a location in Chiang Mai was a bit tricky.  We watched a number of YouTube videos of people searching for accommodations in Chiang Mai before booking the Pansook.

The Pansook is just two years old and is conveniently located in the city proper near shopping and restaurants. It's located about 100 meters off the main road (Huay Kaew), and is in a quiet section of town.

Our daily booking rate includes water, including hot water on demand for the shower, electric, microwave, 1/2 sized refrigerator/ freezer, dishes and flatware for 2 people, clothes hangers, wi-fi, plug-in hot water kettle and daily cleaning service.  There is no stove (burners).

We had lunch at the 4^th floor food court at the huge Maya shopping complex.  We then went to the basement food court and found the Rimping grocery store. We purchased a few food items to take home.

There are three washing machines located at the back of the parking garage at the Pansook. Each cycle takes an hour. No machine driers.  One hangs their laundry on a rack or line to dry.

On her way back from the "laundromat," Helen encountered another “travel angel.”  Just was we experienced a stranger aiding our adventure in Bangkok, Helen’s newly encountered angel Tom provided us a wealth of local Chiang Mai knowledge. Tom has been to Chiang Mai several times.

Tom gave us information on

• Another nearby shopping mall, Kad Suan Kaew (KSK), that has a food court and large, less expensive grocery store called Tops
• How to get a local sim card for our phones
• How to travel using Uber and the red covered trucks (song taews) that ply the streets
• There is also a large Tesco Lotus grocery store that will deliver 
• On Friday and Saturday nights, food vendors set up in front of KSK

That evening we visited Tops, the grocery store at KSK and took a short tour of the shopping center.  We had dinner at the Tops food court. Cheap and very average. At the Tops food court you will need to purchase a Tops Cash Card and pay the food stall vendors with the card vs. cash.

Travel Tips

• Get a local sim card with both voice and data services. We got a 30 day, pre-paid plan (300 baht for each phone). The staff at the store inserted and configured the phones in under ten minutes.
• Install Uber on your phone. Uber came to Chiang Mai in late 2016.  It is a convenient and inexpensive way to navigate the city, less expensive than tuk tuks.
• We brought a clothesline and clothespins. We found washing machines at the Pansook, but as expected, there are no mechanical driers. You can also engage local laundry services that do all washing, drying and folding. Most charge by the kilo, others charge by the piece. 
• Pansook the Urban Condo just off Plubplueng Soi Alley (there are two Pansook Urban Condos) is a good location to start a Chiang Mai Adventure.  
• Other accommodations very near the Pansook are:
• The Dome
• Luxury Huay Kaew
• Sakulchai Place
• Pingnakorn (daily rates)
• PJ Guest House (daily rates)